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I often hear the term “cafeteria Christian.” It is a description of our current religious milieu. People pick and choose what’s important to them in their faith. It’s usually said with disdain—and a bit of eye-rolling. Theologians, who construct systems of belief, want to think about theology as a whole. They are afraid that a generation is going to come along and jettison a couple thousand years of careful thought in lieu of what feels good to them.

Today, I give thanks. Not for America, for material possessions, or for modern comforts. No, I give thanks for the One that has made me whole.

As the imam spoke, it struck me that a whole generation of Muslim Americans would grow up feeling the weight of self-consciousness.

“Are we alone in the universe?” is always a question about God’s existence. The film Interstellar shows this clearly.

In one of the cabinets of my office, I keep a small glass holder big enough for a single tea light candle. I received it my first semester of seminary, during which I'd taken a class called Spiritual Formation. It was an oasis during a rough period of adjustment.

At the vigil for Ferguson, I stumbled over singing "We Shall Overcome." I have remarkably little, personally, to overcome in my life.

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Holiness is a murky word.

c. 2014 St. Louis Post-Dispatch...

(The Christian Science Monitor) The hand-folded paper peace cranes that now adorn the altar and pulpit at Christ the King United Church of Ch...

Suzanne twists the heart-shaped pink plastic ring on her finger as she talks about the women and children who beat her for trying to escape the self-described Islamic State....

Frustrated by high tensions between Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land, 60 imams and rabbis gathered in late November to hatch concrete plans to bridge the gulf between their communities....

As many as 13.6 million people have been displaced by the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. What can American Christians do?

I am not working on a substantive post about the grand jury's unwillingness to indict Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown. I don't have much wisdom to offer here, just sadness....

In the aftermath of last night's rioting in Ferguson, Jeff Krehbiel, a friend and colleague, posted a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. on his Facebook page.  Clearly he was not addressing the events in Ferguson, but the words ring true for today's headlines and for today's America.

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